Gradually the eurozone is overcoming the crisis. Time to look back and to take stock. What caused the crisis? How did the eurozone respond to the crisis? And how is the economic situation in the crisis countries right now?

The peripheral countries are at very different stages of economic recovery and rebalancing. Growth has returned and private and public balances have improved. Unemployment and public debt levels remain high, whilst part of the rebalancing may just be cyclical.

The build-up of large private sector imbalances related to a housing boom and the financial sector were the prime cause of the crisis. Ireland has successfully reformed its banking sector and economic performance is strong, but challenges remain.

Weak private and public finances prior to the crisis are to blame for the severity of the recession and the public debt crisis. Harsh measures triggered a process of sharp economic contraction. The outlook remains bleak and unemployment and debt sky-high.

Both high private and public sector debt prior to the crisis are to blame for the country’s deep recession and public debt crisis. It remains to be seen whether Portugal’s low growth problem has been addressed, with unemployment and indebtedness still very high.

In Spain, the build-up of large private sector imbalances related to a housing boom was the prime cause of the crisis. Spain has rather successfully reformed its banks and economy, but the crisis leaves scars in the form of high unemployment and public debt.

Public sector debt was already very high and economic growth very weak in the years prior to the crisis. Private sector debt was and still is relatively low.
Despite recent structural reforms, the economic outlook remains rather weak and unemployment and public debt high.

Monetary policies in the eurozone and US are on the verge of parting ways. For the world economy as a whole, there is a risk that this monetary divergence will fuel external imbalances among the largest economies.

Most probably, the majority of the British people will vote in favour of EU membership in the Brexit referendum. A Brexit would be less favourable than retention of EU membership for both the UK and the EU due to the economic and political effects.

According to the preliminary estimate from Statistics Netherlands regarding third quarter growth in 2015, Dutch GDP grew by 0.1% compared to the previous quarter. This figure was lower than we expected.